Denise Ilitch is president of Ilitch Enterprises, co-owner of 220 Restaurant Hospitality, owner of Denise Ilitch Designs, and owner/publisher of Ambassador Magazine, a Detroit lifestyle publication. She was first elected to the University of Michigan board of regents in 2008 and is seeking her second term. She was nominated as a candidate for regent at the state Democratic Party convention on Aug. 27, 2016.

Ilitch, who also serves as of-counsel for the Detroit law firm Clark Hill, was previously president of Ilitch Holdings Inc., a privately held business that manages Little Caesar Enterprises, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers, and Olympia Entertainment. She is co-chair of the Horizon Global Corporation board of directors, and a member of the Women's Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School.

During her term as regent, Ilitch frequently has voiced concern over rising tuition rates. Most recently, she was one of three regents – along with Republicans Andrea Fischer Newman and Andrew Richner – who voted against a nearly 4% increase in tuition for UM in 2016-2017. She previously served as chair of the UM board of regents, and was involved in the UM presidential search that resulted in the hiring of Mark Schlissel.

Ilitch received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1977 and a law degree from the University of Detroit in 1980. She lives in Bingham Farms and is married to Jim Scalici. They have three children.